Bass, Cool Display.

When used at extreme bass music (Subwoofer Tests) it overheats and skips.

Exellenct stereo! It has 8 speackers in total, 300Watt total output, unbelievable bass. I dont usually listen to classic, or some low-bass music. I like Drum&Bass and Hip-Hop. The bass is extreme, and I usually go to the store to compare the new models, and only the JVC with its gigatubes comes close. It even has an interior fan, so it wont overheat.

Very powerfull bass for only 6" drivers. They have increadable excursion capabilities also(in and out distance) they rock! The mids and highs are pretty detailed and very refined too. Great overall room filling sound for a small system. I also like the idea of a seprate low- pass amp for the subwoofers on the side. Great for starters... also good for audiophile like me. Good price too!

SHORT AND FAT!!! Too big around for it's height, also it takes a little while to figure out the controlls, but once you do, it's like falling out of a tree!Also, instead of plastic, they used compressed pulp(tough paper essentially)for the subwoofer cone, that's why i don't want to turn it up past 80(it goes to 90 though).

Great overall sound...highs could be a little more powerfull...Kenwood could have used the BBS system to do that. Powerfull sound though. oh yea! don't listen to the guy with the short review that rated it 2/5 stars either... he's nuts!

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Almost nothin' like it. But I have seen a few sort of like it...not as good though.

BASS

Lots of port noise at high volumes. Paper subwoofers (instead of plastic) Weird menus

Everything's good, but port noise may make you want to turn the subs down a bit. I got mine when they first came out, (April 1998) and was blown away, but now thay have the xd-81, and i am a little bit pissed, but that's okay. The menus are tricky to operate, but you get used to them.

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none

Bass.

Hard to figure out some controls. Also, you can't fast forward a CD without the remote control.

This stereo sounds great, and for the price I paid ($175 including shipping), it was WELL worth my money.
There are only a couple flaws with this system... I don't know if everyone's would have the same problems, but here are the ones I've had: Sometimes I can hear little cracks or pops in the music, when I know they shouldn't be there, but it's not very noticable. Also, the cd player skips sometimes when I turn it up loud. I think this may just be because I have the speakers too close to the main component, or maybe because the entire thing is sitting on something that isn't too sturdy. Other than that, this system is great... especially the bass.

Great bass, with a five level subwoofer adjustment.
Good overall sound.

Menus are tricky to navigate.

I've found the XD-A8 to be a good choice for someone who wants a decent sound with great bass. While it's not the ultimate audiophile experience, it's delivered consistently good results for the eight months I've had it. The major drawback to the system is the ease of use- the setup on the unit and remote is counterintuitive, and it gets aggravating navigating around. Other than that (besides the not so good surround sound), its a quality product, especially for the money

The system really looks appealing, but when I actually got to hear it.....I didnt find anything special about it. For the same price range, one can get much better systems. I found a lot of distortion given by the speakers at higher volumes and the bass really sucks!!!

Very Strong Bass Response

Treble / High End is not refined or pronounced. Tweeter is rather weak

I think that for a Shelf System, this packs a punch. The bass response is amazing, the sound is clean, even the mid range is very pronounced. If your recording is very well made, you can overlook the weak highs from the paper tweeter. If there was a way to replace the Tweeter with a plastic one, that would be excellent. OVerall, very worth it for small or large room. No Surround capabilities, though.

The Kenwood xd-a8 is a great overall unit if you can get past all of the bulky plastic. It has a lot of bass and nice highs. It seems to have a slight amount of reverb built into the midrange and highs for some reason, but it sounds realistic. The SRS effect sucks, to tinny. The xd-a8 sounds best with the bass and treble set on full, and the midrange about 1/2 - 2/3 of the way up, and the sub level 3/4 of the way up-anymore than that and it will start to distort the sub at very high volumes. The unit sounds great and for the money($299-Crutchfield) I don't think you're going to find a better sounding unit. Another thing that I did'nt like about it was all the menu crap, I know it would cost more, but they need to make things simpler and just put some knobs on it instead of going thru a menu of a bunch of choices just to set something. It took me forever to figure out how to set the timer so that I could use it for an alarm. I deducted 1/2 star for ease of use and 1/2 star for all the plastic. Otherwise this is a great mini-stereo, especially for the money!

The Kenwood XD-A8 is one of the evergrowing alternatives to a large component stereo system. Comparable units to the XD-A8 are the Sony RX-77 and the Panasonic SC-AK95 although the RX-77 does not have a subwoofer. These systems offer a no-compromise sound with terrific bass for their size and price.
Kenwood's offering, with it's bulging sides and huge ports, has a unique shape that gives it an aggresive look. The control panel resembles a screen from the Starship Enterprise and unfortunately this is the system's only major drawback. It is very complicated to operate, even by sales staff and the like, and awkward to adjust (For example, to change the subwoofer level you must hold down one button while turning the dial then select your wyat through 2 menus to get results). Weakpoint aside, the A-8 counts where it matters; sound. Although the midrange seems a bit overwhelmed at times, performance is more than acceptable for a unit this size. Treble, although a slight bit tinny, is clear and refined. Bass is here in spades and with the adjustable subwoofer level, any one's tastes can be satisfied. In fact, in a home comparasion between an older Kenwood full size system and the A-8, one was hard pressed to tell which was which in a blindfold listening exercise. (2 out of 5 were incorrect)

Overall, the Kenwood A-8 offers an excellent alternative to everyone from the college residence king to the family who needs a nice system. Full size systems beware, there is only one direction for these units to go......up! (The Kenwood XD-A81 is out with 400 watts!!!)